The sentencing of former Congresswoman Corrine Brown today to 5 years in prison is not about misplaced trust by her, but misplaced trust by her District 5 constituency and all Floridians that her long career in Congress was in her own self-interest and not in service to them. Brown betrayed her constituents who sent her to Washington to represent their interests, not her own. The sense of entitlement that allowed Brown to participate in this fraud to enrich herself in the name of underprivileged children is extremely disappointing.

Among Brown’s multiple convictions around a sham charity for children were counts of lying on her financial disclosure forms. Those disclosure forms and ethics and transparency in government in general are vital to holding public officials accountable. Variations of this sad story have been repeated all too many times in Washington and Tallahassee and hammer home the need for checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power by those who hold it.